City government to investigate bullying after mother’s ad

By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter

Mon, Dec 09, 2013 - Page 3

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) pledged yesterday that the city government will look into allegations of bullying after a student’s mother placed an advertisement in a newspaper accusing the school of ignoring her complaints.

In the half-page advertisement, A Petition to Mayor Hau Lung-bin, the mother, surnamed Chiang (蔣), accused a student at Taipei Dunhua Junior High School of bullying her daughter since the seventh grade.

She said the school has ignored her complaints because the student’s mother teaches at the school.

Hau said the city government will not tolerate any school bullying. However, he expressed concerns about the advertisement, which carried the full names of the accused student and his mother, which could violate the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法).

“We do not tolerate any school bullying, but we also hope that parents can make their claims in appropriate ways and avoid hurting children,” he said.

However, Chiang shrugged off issues of legality, saying she spent about NT$1 million (US$33,700) for the advertisement to make the bullying public.

“I will not let the school bury the case, and the aim of the ad was to make the student admit to his mistake and apologize,” she said.

Principal Kao Ming-hui (高敏慧) said the school talked to both sides about the alleged bullying after learning the situation on Wednesday, with the accused denying the allegations. Kao insisted that the school did not try to cover up for the accused and said another negotiation between the two sides would be held tomorrow.